Adham S. Bear, MD, PhD
Adham S. Bear, MD, PhD, instructor of Hematology-Oncology, has received the 2022 Inspiration Award from the Hopper-Belmont Foundation for his dedication and innovation in pancreatic cancer research. Bear will receive $5,000 in research funding to advance potential treatments for patients with pancreatic cancer, aligned with this year’s award focus on Novel Therapeutic Approaches. The Hopper-Belmont Foundation is a nonprofit dedicated to inspiring young talent to innovate in health and wellness. The Inspiration Award supports novel approaches that need proof of concept or additional data prior to seeking larger grant support.
D. Gregory Farwell, MD
D. Gregory Farwell, MD, the Gabriel Tucker Professor of Otorhinolaryngology, and chair of Otorhinolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery, has been inducted as a member of the Academy of Master Surgeon Educators. The recognition, awarded by the American College of Surgeons, recognizes the highest levels of achievement in surgical education. Farwell has published more than 100 peer-reviewed papers and is a leader in the field of head and neck cancer surgery, having been invited to give over 300 presentations globally on the best ways to treat and rehabilitate patients with cancer of the head and neck.
Carl H. June, MD
Carl H. June, MD, the Richard W. Vague professor of Immunotherapy and director of the Center for Cellular Immunotherapies, has received the inaugural Maria I. New International Prize for Biomedical Research from the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. The prize honors medical pioneers in the tradition of Dr. New, who demonstrated outstanding commitment over six decades to breakthrough research. June is a pioneer of CAR T cell therapy, which has led to FDA-approved treatments for lymphoma, leukemia, and multiple myeloma. In addition to the prize, June will receive $20,000 and present the Maria I. New Distinguished Lecture in New York City this November.
Virginia M.Y. Lee, PhD
Virginia M.Y. Lee, PhD, the John H. Ware 3rd Professor in Alzheimer’s Research in the Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine and director of the Center for Neurodegenerative Disease Research has been named a Clarivate Citation Laureate for the identification of TDP-43, a pathological signature of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and frontotemporal lobar degeneration (FTLD), and for other contributions to the study of neurodegenerative diseases. The class of laureates are researchers whose work is deemed to be ‘of Nobel class’, according to analysis by the Institute for Scientific Information.
Van Truong
Van Truong, a PhD student in Genomics and Computational Biology, has been selected for the Microsoft Research PhD Fellowship. It covers two years of stipend and tuition while pursuing research that falls within 10 areas, such as artificial intelligence and data platforms. Nearly 50 students from around the world are selected, enabling them to connect with mentors and research teams at Microsoft.
Martha Farah, PhD, and Anna Wexler, PhD
Anna Wexler, PhD, an assistant professor of Medical Ethics & Health Policy, and Martha Farah, PhD, the Walter H. Annenberg Professor of Natural Sciences in Psychology and Medical Ethics & Health Policy, have been awarded a planning grant from the Dana Foundation for a new Dana Center for Neuroscience and Society. The planning grants are the first phase of a two-part grants process; in the second phase, they will compete with 10 other planning grant awardees for two grants to establish a Dana Center to reimagine the existing Center for Neuroscience and Society, which Farah currently leads. The planning grants are an important first step to address gaps in training and research for scholars who aim to foster neuroscience’s positive impact on society.
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The Perelman School of Medicine is consistently among the nation's top recipients of funding from the National Institutes of Health, with $550 million awarded in the 2022 fiscal year. Home to a proud history of “firsts” in medicine, Penn Medicine teams have pioneered discoveries and innovations that have shaped modern medicine, including recent breakthroughs such as CAR T cell therapy for cancer and the mRNA technology used in COVID-19 vaccines.
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